Showtimes Star Wars - The Force Awakens

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Critic's Review

Trivia / Goofs

Summary / Analysis

Box Office

Times of India

Mumbai Mirror

Story:
Poe Dameron (Isaac) is a fighter pilot from the Resistance who meets Lor San Tekka (Sydow) to collect a map that'll help locate Luke Skywalker, who has long since become a recluse. The village they're in comes under surprise attack from Stormtroopers (belonging to the First Order, which emerged from the ashes of the Galactic Empire) led by Kylo Ren (Driver). A droid named BB-8 is entrusted with the map and told to escape. Will the Resistance be able to locate Skywalker and prevent the First Order from taking over the galaxy? Or will the First Order get to Luke first, if they obtain the map?

Review:
That Star Wars is a force to be reckoned with, is a given. It is a cinematic entity - a space opera - of such proportion that it has no parallel or comparison. But J.J. Abrams' biggest achievement here is that he has successfully managed the daunting task of forging the beginnings of a new chapter in this franchise's mythology. Tributes and references to the early films abound - some obvious and some not-so-obvious. For example, the 'wipes' that are used for scene transitions are delightfully (and deliberately) retro, and first seen in 1977's A New Hope.

The old characters are gradually revealed - Han Solo (Ford) practically owns the screen, as he commands the Millennium Falcon like not a day had gone by since Return of the Jedi. Much rests on the new villain, Ren, a conflicted character for various reasons. Of course, no one can compare Ren to Darth Vader and wisely, Abrams doesn't even try. Instead, Abrams uses Vader as an inspirational figure for Ren. Rey (Ridley) passes muster and Finn (Boyega) is a Stormtrooper who loses faith in the First Order and defects to the Resistance. This is interesting, as never before have Stormtroopers been given even a shade of personality.

The storytelling is top notch. It's a carefully-crafted dance of nuance that balances a bit of everything. The set pieces are spectacular and then of course, there are the lightsaber battles... The Force is indeed, epic with this one. Don't miss it.

The force is with us

Just before I entered a theatre to watch The Force Awakens, I was hit on the head by a lightsaber. True story. So, a word of advice to Star Wars fans who plan on taking their toys to a cinema this weekend — please do not read on. No, you will not find a plot outline here. Though it did make me gasp and inwardly cheer, I will certainly not tell you what happens in the end. But even the smallest of intimations, I fear, can spoil the fun for fanatical worshippers. I don't want to do that only because there is so much fun to be had.

The reboot of a franchise necessitates nostalgia, and nostalgia, an arguably bitchy beast, almost always succeeds in glorifying a sometimes imperfect past. Expectations are only raised when yesterday, in the mind of viewers, had done little wrong. George Lucas had found this out rather famously. Between 1999 and 2005, the director had released three prequels to his much-loved Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983).

Technological glitz failed to distract from how maudlin and downright boring the films were. It wasn't that Lucas was beating a dead horse. He had gone and beaten a thoroughbred stallion to death.

One of Force Awakens' greatest successes is an erasure of the bad taste Lucas had left us with a decade ago. The film's director JJ Abrams takes us back in time, but the spacecraft of a film he straps us in, thankfully bypasses misadventures like Lucas' Attack of the Clones (2002) and again light speeds us to a galaxy far, far away, where that epic battle between good and evil, between the Dark Side and Jedis, actually amounted to something we could get excited about. Harrison Ford reprises his role as Han Solo. Chewbacca's fur might have now gotten blue highlights, but when the two step aboard the Millennium Falcon and Solo says, "Chewie, we're home," you know that we are back in business.

The importance of Han Solo, and of Ford's portrayal, cannot be undermined. When Luke Skywalker was busy taking his Jedi powers a touch too seriously in films like A New Hope (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Solo undercut the protagonist's existential crises with a humour that was endearingly thuggish. Though Ford is all saltand-pepper now, his droll asides are still a relief. Abrams seems to value such respite. John Boyega, who plays the reformed Stormtrooper Finn, is more bumbling than brave. Even the character of Rey, essayed rather brilliantly by Daisy Ridley, is reluctant to give up her life of listless scavenging. Unlike Luke, she doesn't hunger for the Jedi tricks that soon find her.

The Force Awakens ticks all the boxes that you would want a 2015 Star Wars film to. Interstellar chase sequences have been rendered more riveting. Holograms that are used to show the might and menace of the evil empire are not as tacky. Age has expectedly made Carrie Fisher's Leia a grump and the lovable C-3PO is making do with a screwed-on red arm. Along with Lucas' failings, Abrams is mindful of time and its passing. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), your modern-day Darth Vader, seems to comprehend the dark side in a manner that is less mechanical than his heavy-breathing forefather.

A vulnerability marks his lightsaber battles with Rey, and, in my mind, Abrams' most telling update of the Star Wars myth is that his sassy scavenger kicks a** far more entertainingly than Luke ever could.

If you've seen a Star Wars offering before, you don't need to be told you should watch The Force Awakens. But in the event you haven't, there is good reason you should. The force, as goes the adage, is super strong with this one.

TRIVIA

The production team preferred using real locations and miniature models instead of computer-generated imagery in order to ensure that the film resembles the Star Wars trilogy.

This is the first J.J. Abrams film that does not have a musical score by Michael Giacchino.

While filming the movie, Harrison Ford is said to have broken his ankle on the door of the Millennium Falcon.

Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill had to undergo a vigorous regimen of diet and exercise to prepare for their roles of Leia and Luke, respectively.

Continuing the tradition of the previous Star Wars films, there is no dialogue spoken in the final scene.

Before Adam Driver was roped in to play the villain, Michael Fassbender and Hugo Weaving were considered for the role.

This is the first Star War film to have IMAX cameras in use during filming.

Plot Summary

Approximately 30 years after the destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has disappeared. The First Order has risen from the remains of the fallen Galactic Empire and seeks to eliminate Luke and the Republic. The Resistance, backed by the Republic and led by Luke's sister, Leia Organa, opposes them while searching for Luke to enlist his aid.

Resistance pilot Poe Dameron meets village elder Lor San Tekka on the planet Jakku to obtain a map to Luke's location. Stormtroopers under the command of Kylo Ren destroy the village and capture Poe. Poe's droid BB-8 escapes with the map, and comes across a scavenger, Rey, at a junkyard settlement. Ren tortures Poe and learns of BB-8. Stormtrooper FN-2187, unable to kill for the First Order, frees Poe and they escape in a stolen TIE fighter; Poe dubs FN-2187 "Finn". They crash on Jakku, and Finn appears to be the only survivor. He encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike. The three flee the planet in a stolen, rundown ship, the Millennium Falcon.

The Falcon breaks down, and is soon captured by a much larger ship, piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca, who reclaim their former ship. Han explains that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi Order, but after a student turned to the dark side and destroyed all he had built, Luke went into exile, feeling responsible. Gangs seeking to settle debts with Solo attack, but the five escape in the Falcon. The criminals inform the First Order of Han's involvement. The Falcon crew arrive at the planet Takodana and meet in a cantina belonging to Maz Kanata, who can help BB-8 reach the Resistance, but Finn wants to flee on his own. Rey is drawn to a vault and finds the lightsaber that belonged to Luke and his father, Anakin Skywalker, before him. She experiences disturbing visions and flees into the woods. Maz gives Finn the lightsaber for safekeeping.

At the First Order's Starkiller Base, a planet converted to a superweapon capable of destroying star systems, Supreme Leader Snoke orders General Hux to use it for the first time. It destroys the Republic capital and its fleet and Hux declares it the end of the Republic. Snoke tells Ren that to overcome the call of the Light Side of the Force, Ren must kill his father, Han Solo. The First Order attacks Takodana. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn, who uses the lightsaber in the fight, are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, but Rey is captured and taken to Starkiller Base. Ren interrogates Rey, but she resists his mind-reading. Discovering she too can use the Force, she escapes her cell with a Jedi mind trick.

Han, Chewbacca, Finn, and BB-8 arrive at the Resistance base on D'Qar, where they meet Leia and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, the latter of which has been inactive since Luke's disappearance. As Starkiller Base prepares to fire on D'Qar, the Resistance devises a plan to lower the planetary shield so their fighters can attack. Leia urges Han to bring their son back alive. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the base. They lower the shield, find Rey, set explosives, and encounter Ren. Han confronts Ren, calling him by his birth name, Ben, and implores him to abandon the dark side. Though conflicted, Ren kills Han. Chewbacca shoots Ren and sets off the explosives, allowing the Resistance X-wing fighters to attack the weapon and starting a chain reaction that destroys Starkiller Base.

The injured Ren chases Finn and Rey to the surface. Finn battles Ren with the lightsaber, but is wounded. Rey takes the lightsaber and fights Ren. She overpowers him with the Force and wounds him before they are separated by a fissure. Snoke orders General Hux to evacuate and bring Ren to him, while Rey, Chewbacca, and Finn escape in the Falcon. On D'Qar, the Resistance celebrates while Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han's death. R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, allowing Rey to travel with R2-D2 and Chewbacca to an island on a distant planet. She finds Luke and offers the lightsaber to him.

'Star Wars - The Force Awakens' fared well at the box office in India on the day of its release. While 'Dilwale' and 'Bajirao Mastani' are still doing equally well in their second week, the sci-fi Hollywood film may catch up with movie goers amid the festive mood.

'Star Wars - The Force Awakens' recorded an opening of Rs 3.50 crore nett. ('nett.' means total amount collected from theatrical ticket sales minus tax), largely in the English format. However, the film had already collected Rs 1 crore a day before via paid previews. Its total collections in India now stand at Rs 4.50 crore.

Cliffhanger endings are, by their very nature, designed to titillate audiences leaving them with unanswered questions and unresolved plot points. By which measure, the ending to Star Wars: The Force Awakens was perfectly pitched, bringing the film''s new heroine, Rey, face to face with the original trilogy''s great hero, Luke Skywalker, and paving the way for the next two instalments of the long-running space saga.